Wye Mountain 2015

Here are pictures from our annual trip to the Daffodil Festival at Wye Mountain.  

Here's the picture we decided to put up on our wall.

This is our attempt at a walking family picture.

Spring Break

This spring break we decided to take a trip to see two of my brothers, Jacob and Jason.  Jacob is moving to Connecticut soon and we wanted to see him before he was even further away.  Jason has been in South Carolina for almost a year and David has never been to South Carolina and wanted to see it and check it (and North Carolina) off his list (he is up to 45).  Adam was seven weeks old when we started our trip.  We were a little nervous, but he was a pretty good traveler. 

First, we headed to Jacob and Alysa's house just outside of Atlanta, GA.  We got there on a beautiful Saturday evening and the kids had fun running around outside and enjoying cousin time.  We went to church and hung out on Sunday and then went to the aquarium on Monday.  Tuesday we headed out to Jason's in Columbia, SC.

The afternoon we got to Jason's the kids were playing outside.  Heidi fell running down the driveway and got all scraped up.  As David was bringing her back out after getting her cleaned up Thomas came running up the street with blood running down his face.  After we got that stopped Heidi fell again in almost the same place and ripped her original band aids off.  After that things went smoother.  We went to the beach one day, went to Jason's lab, and enjoyed being together.

We had heard that Atlanta had an awesome aquarium.  After further research we found out it is the largest aquarium in the world.  We decided we had to go. It was a bit pricey, but we found a good deal and went for it.  Alysa, Levi, and Jubilee were able to go with us, but Jacob had work and Benjamin had school.

Georgia aquarium is the only place you can see whale sharks.  They are in this huge tank with a lot of other cool animals including manta rays.  My favorite part was the tunnel where you could walk through the big tank.

Cousin time in Jacob's backyard.  They had fun playing with the big ball.  The boys really hit it off. That is Benjamin on the ground.  Thomas is in the orange and Stuart is in the background.

Jason invited us to go see his lab.  He is a molecular biologist and a professor at the University of South Carolina.  He has just gotten his lab set up and loves to show it off.  Thomas loved to see all the sciencey stuff.  We told the kids we needed to get to bed that night because we were going somewhere exciting the next day (referring to the beach).  Thomas asked,"are we going to Uncle Jason's lab?"  Thomas and Stuart were excited that Jason gave them a pipet to keep.

The beach conditions were less than ideal.  It was supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny, but instead it was about 60 and foggy and windy.

I mostly tried to keep Adam happy and keep the sand and wind out of his face.  Heidi managed to get sand in her eyes a couple of times and was freezing.  Needless to say she didn't have the best day.

The boys had fun though.  They built a sand castle and found tons of seashells.  

We did get a nice lady to take a family picture for us.

Aunt Tina was a ton of fun.  She kept the kids entertained with activity after activity and fed us lots of yummy food.  Here the kids are making loom bracelets.  

Here they are doing snap circuits with Nathan and Alan.

Adam was a big hit.  Tina's kids were so excited to see him and play with him.  Here Taylor is holding Adam.  All of her big kids were so good at playing with our little ones.

I love getting to see my family whenever I can.  I love seeing their families and how everyone has grown.  We will get to see more this summer when Anna gets married.

Growth Chart

I don't know if I ever posted about our awesome play area/room that David built (I might have to do that another time), but the theme is Jack and the Beanstalk.  We decided we needed some more decor for the room.  We thought a beanstalk growth chart would be fun.  We bought some yard sticks from Home Depot, painted them and then added new marks on them.  Then, we got vinyl from David's mom and cut out leaves, added the name and date and then stuck them on the wall.  For a final touch I took pictures of the kids, laminated them, cut them out and put them on their leaves, so they could be "climbing" on the beanstalk.  I think it turned out cute.

First Date

David and I went on our first date 10 years ago, Wednesday, March 4, 2005.  Did I remember?  Of course not, but David did and he set up a miniature golf course in our house to commemorate that date.  He and Thomas made me stay downstairs while they set it up and then made me walk up the stairs with my eyes closed.  He had Thomas help him make signs for each hole and put tape where to start.  He made golf clubs out of dowels and scraps of wood.  The "holes" were paper plates with a notch cut out.  One hole was hitting the ball down the slide and another hitting it down the stairs.  He even made a scorecard.  The kids played with us (well Thomas is the only one who played all 9 holes).  David won, but we looked back at our scorecard from the original date and I won that day.  David even bought ice cream for us to have that night since we went to the Creamery after mini golf on our first date.  After that we watched Aladdin at his apartment.  It was my copy and I still have it, so I put it on Wednesday as well and we watched it while I nursed my newborn baby.  It was perfect!  I love having a creative husband.

Adam's Birth Story

Okay, so I know some people don't want to know all the details and yet others are dying to know details and love hearing birth stories, so if you aren't interested you can look at the cute picture and stop reading now and just know I have another wonderful baby in my family.  I mostly write these for myself.  This post is long and in-depth.

I thought this baby boy (that's what we had to call him for a long time because we couldn't come up with a name) would be early.  My pattern has been that all of my kids have been early and each one was a few days earlier than the last.  According to me at least, Adam was due on January 29th (which was a Thursday).  The early ultrasound said the 30th, but the date printed on it was a day later than the day I actually got the ultrasound.  I figured having my mom come the Saturday before that due date would work out just fine.  I figured I would either have already had him or he would come a day or two later.  Well, he had other plans.  My mom came on Saturday and I felt great, too great.  The week wore on and I still was feeling and sleeping all too well.  Finally, on I think Friday, I started to have more contractions that were actually strong enough to tell me the baby wasn't too far away.  Saturday evening, David and I went on a walk to try to get things going (this wasn't the first one of such walks, by any means).  The contractions started to come again and this time they stayed fairly constant and were much stronger.  After we got the kids to bed, I decided that this was the real thing if the contractions would just come a little closer together (they were plenty strong enough).  We decided to go ahead and go get gas and either head to the the hospital (if they kept up) or find somewhere to walk around.  We decided to go to Walmart in Little Rock.  Every time I had a contraction I would just head down an aisle (like I was suddenly interested in toasters or something) and wait it out.  They were still about 10 minutes apart, but then they started getting very intense and a little closer and we decided to just go to the hospital.  Of course, they stopped when we got there, so we walked around the hospital for a bit until they came again and decided to just go up to Labor and Delivery.

We checked in and they took us to triage.  It turns out I was actually having quite a few contractions, just some were a lot stronger than others, but I was only dilated to "almost a 2".  It took two nurses to determine that because they couldn't reach my cervix.  Well, I just knew we were going home, but they said they would call the on-call doctor and see what she said.  She said to keep me for an hour and see what happened.  I decided to walk around for a while, but I wasn't very hopeful.  Well, while I was walking around, the contractions came fast and strong.  Finally, I had to go lay down to wait out the rest of the hour.  When they checked again at 12:30 Sunday morning I was a 4 and they checked us into a room.  I was so relieved! 

Everything went smoothly at first.  They got me situated and then gave me my epidural.  The nurse told me that his heart rate was dropping every time I had a contraction, but that wasn't too alarming.  They kept putting a pillow under me thinking changing positions might help.  David and I both rested while we waited.  Then, a bunch of nurses came running in and kept on turning me in every position you could think of and put an oxygen mask on me.  I breathed as deeply as I could, trying to get the baby's heart rate back up, which finally happened.  They called Dr. Owens and told her she needed to come right away.  They watched his heart rate closely, but it was back up in the normal range (though still lower than average).  His heart rate had been lower than average (and much lower than at our doctors visits) the whole time I had been at the hospital.  It was averaging around 115 or so.  After the nurses left and all was calm again, I lay staring at the monitor that showed his heart rate and David stood close by doing the same.  Finally, Dr. Owens got there and broke my water.  They kept checking to see if I had made any progress, but I was still only about a 7.  Then, they broke the news to us, he would need to be born c-section.  Though his heart rate wasn't so low anymore, it wasn't normal.  A normal heart rate goes up and down regularly, but his wasn't going up at all, just down and then back up to the baseline, but never up.  She said if we could deliver him quickly maybe we could avoid it, but I wasn't progressing quickly (which is normal for me).  

So, the preparations began for a c-section.  It wasn't a rush, rush situation at that point.  When they were ready, they wheeled me down to the OR.  They upped my anesthesia, scrubbed me, and did all the other things they needed to.  David waited in the hall.  Then, the nurse said she was going to check his heart rate again.  After she did so, she said loudly, "We need to get this baby out now!"  They sent someone out to get David and they started right away.  As David walked in they were taking Adam out.  They did the c-section in two minutes flat, started at 7:06 and finished at 7:08.  All I knew is he was crying a healthy baby cry.  He had arrived and he was healthy. They wiped him and wrapped him and gave him to daddy while they finished up.  Everyone's comments were about how big he was.  They didn't have a scale in the room, but someone finally went and got one, so they could all know how much he weighed, 9 lbs. 8 oz.  I was awake, but kind of out of it at this point.  

Recovery from a c-section was kind of hard for me.  I didn't feel much for the first little while.  They leave in your epidural for the first 24 hours and then give you lots of pain meds.  So, mostly I just rested, watched HGTV with David and took care of my new little baby.  After 24 hours they took out the catheter and then I could get up (with help of course) and try to use the bathroom.  It was so nice when I finally got to take a shower!  I stayed at the hospital for three days and then I was ready to leave.  I was glad to get home, but glad I had lots of help.  Everyone said after you come home that it gets a little better everyday and you should be up more and more, but it didn't happen that way for me.  I felt worse after I got home and it took a week and a half before I saw any improvement.  I had a sharp pain on my right side every time I got up to go to the bathroom or took a shower (which are the only times I ever got up).  I couldn't do anything.  I couldn't even get in and out of our high bed, so I just stayed in our recliner and David stayed close at hand to help.  Eventually we put Adam's bed next to me so I could put him down, get up and do what I needed to and come back and sit down and pick him up.  I didn't even go downstairs to eat, but had a kind mother and mother-in-law who made food for my family and brought some up to me.  It felt great when I could finally get downstairs and eat with my family and then even help make dinner.

Now he is a month old and I feel pretty much normal.  I can't wait until the weather gets nice and we can get outside and start walking.  I am grateful for a happy, healthy baby (who sleeps through the night already) and a great family. 

Merry Christmas 2014

We started out Christmas a little sick.  Thomas had been sick since Wednesday and we thought he was better, I had been pretty sick in the meantime and David and Stuart got it a little as well.  On Christmas Eve Thomas was running a fever again, so Cynthia and her family went to Grandma's house and we stayed home.  We had a quiet Christmas Eve watching Christmas movies and having a Stewart family Christmas Eve dinner of lots of good snacks.  We sang to Stuart, let him open one present, and had ice cream cones.  Thomas insisted that they had to go to bed right on time in order for Santa to come, so all the kids were in bed by 8 and Santa came shortly after that.

We had a quiet Christmas morning at home with just our family.  Thomas obediently came upstairs when he woke up and then we got the other two up and did stockings.  We had a quick breakfast and then had fun opening our presents.  We played with Thomas's rubber band airplane and remote control car for a while and then the kids were asking about seeing their cousins.  Thomas seemed to be better, so we went over there.  They were still opening presents and we joined in.  The day was spent enjoying each others company and having cousins play together.  We all stayed healthy the rest of the week and had fun together!

Stuart was excited to get his card from Grandma Stewart because it had a sloth on it.  We don't do much on his actual birthday because we do a half-birthday party for him.

Stockings.  Thomas said Santa put his apple in the bottom because he knows how much he loves apples so he saved the best for last.

Still can't figure out how to turn these.  All three in front of the tree.

Santa gave the boys both stuffed sloths.  Stuart's is named Slothy.  He also got a real fishing pole, which is all he asked for.

Heidi got a kid photo album.  She also loves her backpack she got.  She has been trying to steal her brothers' lately.

Here is our other sloth (I think he named it Fast to be funny).  They have velcro so they can hang. 

Update on Mommy and Daddy (aka Rachel and David)

We are alive and well.  There aren't as many pictures of us, but I decided we deserved an update as well.  

David started working for Virtual Arkansas last year and has continued this year.  He has been at home all that time.  This year he is teaching a lot more live classes than before and it has been harder than last year.  He also has a very high student load (over 400), but has gotten some help with grading and is getting things sorted out.  He is also teaching an online homeschool class on Tuesday evenings.  He really likes doing that and has about 17 students.  

I am six months pregnant with our fourth child which is going to be a little boy. We are still trying to come up with a name for him.  Thomas would have started school this year, but we have decided to homeschool him.  Teaching, playing with, and reading to my children take the bulk of my day, but I find a little time to rest, cook and clean.  I just love having my family in the same house almost all day. 

Thomas is quite the little photographer.  He took this picture of us at Wye Mountain.

David and I decided to have a little contest with Thomas's new double stomp rocket.  I think David won (as usual).

Father's Day.  David got a jigsaw and he loves it!  He always had to borrow one before.  Unfortunately, he has been too busy to do much woodworking these days.

The fourth of July at Grandma and Grandpa Nance's house.

I celebrated my birthday at my parents house in Utah.  Josh and his family were in town as well as Jonathan and his family (who live in Tooele as well).  Here are all the kids present (Natalie, Matthew, Heidi, Stuart, Isabel, Esther, Thomas, and Cora).

David really pushed for this expedition to dig for trilobites.  He wanted someone to go with him and finally convinced Harold.  All the boys went and Stephanie and I stayed with the two little girls and relaxed at their house.  The trip ended up being over 4 hours each way, but he'll tell you it was worth it!

Our family with great-grandpa Horne at the park after Hyrum's birthday party.

Our family at The Great Salt Lake

For David's birthday his parents took the kids for the night and we got to go on a date and then have the house to ourselves for the night.  We went to find "the big rock" which is these beautiful cliffs which are at Emerald Park close to Aunt Jane's house.  It was a fun walk and a beautiful view.

David's birthday celebration the next day at his parent's house.

We love to go on family walks and now we have two on bikes!  This is walking around Lake Willastein.

David has been wanting to get a tornado shelter for a long time.  We had a tornado hit very close to our home last spring and so we saved up and got a tornado shelter put in our garage.  Heidi is scared of it, but the boys think it is great fun.

We have a good life and a wonderful family!